Sign of the Slenderman
by DrHooves
Summary: When Carrot Top introduces the mythical Slenderman to the Doctor and Ditzy, it bears a startling resemblance to the recent disappearances around Ponyville...


The Doctor walked in the crisp, clear, sunlight. Nothing could be wrong on a fine equestrian day day like thi- "Hello, mister, would you like to buy some apples?" The Doctor saw two ponies, one smaller than the other. The smaller one had a peach body and a red mane, and the other, probably her sister, had a blond mane and orange body. The Doctor recognized the elder immediately; Applejack, one of the wielders of the elements of harmony. They met when the Daleks briefly invaded Equestria. The Doctor looked at the fruit. Oh, god. He hated apples, the devil fruits, and would never eat such a thing, at least until his taste buds changed when he regenerated. "Um...No thanks."

"Why not?" Shit. Come on, Doctor, think, give another reason instead of 'Apples are rubbish, I hate apples, scram.' Come on... "Umm...I have plenty at home."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm pretty sure I..."

"You're pretty sure, but you're not absolutely positively completely super-duper sure, are you?" Check and mate. "Y...ah... If I buy some apples, will you please leave me alone?" Oh, please, please, please, say yes...

"Aaal-right!" Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you... He grabbed an apple, paid four bits, and then left in a flash! Spitting out the apple, he panted, and decided to get home, to the TARDIS. At the bathroom, he washed his mouth out with water, so that they weren't on his tongue, and for good measure, he got a banana. God, ever since his ninth, he loved bananas. This was life. After Cthulhu, the Doctor and Ditzy decided to settle down for a while, though Jack was picked for a job with the EERC. Ditzy continued her job as a mailmare, though the Doctor took a job too-as a repairman, and Ditzy was going well into her third trimester, her stomach swelling to accommodate the baby. They received surprising news-twins. The nurse listed several 'birth defects' and 'mutations' including a dual vascular syestem. "I'm surprised that the whole cthulhu thing didn't kill the baby." She once said. "Oh, womb-born time lords-or time ponies are covered in a field of regenerative energy. She wouldn't have been killed."

Suddenly, the Door opened up, to reveal Ditzy. "Carrot Top will be here tonight. She's so excited to meet you."

"I know. I've invited Jack."

"Doctor, could we not put arsenic in his food, to display his immortality, like last time?" The last time that happened, the guests were entertained, but the next morning, they got a note 'inviting' Jack to work at the EERC. Jack was not happy about this, because of their mission statement, which was much like Torchwood before Canary Wharf.

"Fine, fine." The Door closed behind him. A monitor came on in the TARDIS. "Jack, what's going on?"

"You better come here. Theres a sort of a-disappearances in the everfree outpost. The EERC is on it."

"Well, It's lucky you called a Doctor."

"Why?"

"It's probably just like a child trying to skive school-nothing serious. I suggest talking to the silurian establishment and then, if nothing occurs, just wait it out. Buy the way, are you coming to dinner tonight?"

"Oh, of course! I'm on my way right-now." And just like that, Jack appeared on the transmat.

"Jack! glad to see you in the flesh, after such a long time."

"Likewise. How is Ditzy's pregnancy?"

"Oh, It's fine..." Ditzy and Her roommate came a few hours later.

"Hi! You must be the Doctor!"

"Well, well, well, who's this lovely filly?" Jack had just turned a corner, entering the console room. The Doctor just smiled. Let him have his fun.

During dinner, Carrot Top brought up a subject. "Doctor, have you heard about the slenderman?"

"No, I've never heard of it. What about it?"

"It is supposed to be an old wives tale. Slender Man generally appears as a tall man in a black or grey suit, red or black tie, and white shirt, with no eyes, mouth, or clearly defined facial features. It has no hair, and generally has normal-looking bare hands. Slenderman typically is depicted in imagery and literature as between 6 and 15 feet tall, depending on the situation, and in video as around 6-7 feet tall. Because of its inexact nature, and differences between series, no one has yet determined what it is. Yes, quite scary."

"Is'nt that something. But do go on."

"Slenderman has no exactly defined or specified history, however contributors have placed early sightings of Slenderman-like beings in early 600s by travellers in the everfree forest and before, where it took the dress of a knight or royal figure. Photographs from the early 900s were the next confirmed reports, where imagery of Slenderman can be found in classical black and white and sepia imagery. Reports from this time indicate sightings in Appaloosa, the Changeling Kingdom, and even around Ponyville, as well as reports of child disappearances.

By the mid-900s, some rare run-ins occurred in the war zones in The everfree forest, apparently Slenderman's native land. Soldiers were the primary targets here. In the gryphon kingdom and Equestria, reports of missing skiers and children appeared, coming from forested areas of the nations."

"Odd. Why do you bring this up?"  
"Because of the disappearances! I think-well-It's just a thought-that the slenderman might be involved."

"I hope you're wrong."

The next morning, the Doctor woke up, and got some coffee and a newspaper (Equestria daily) from the Transmat. Not too bad. Until he Saw the thing on the front page: SIXTH DISAPPEARANCE IN EVERFREE FOREST. In the corner of the featured picture was a sort of an animal that resembled Carrot Top's description of the so-called slenderman.

Was this right?

He went to the police station. When he went to the police chief's desk, he went to the sheriff.

"Hello, I'm here to make some inquiries into the case." He then threw the newspaper down and pointed to the corner. "Did you notice that detail?"

"No, Is that-"

"Yes, it is. The "Slenderman" Or whatever you call it."

"Can we find anything, any witnesses? I'm the Doctor, you can trust me."

"Well, there is some good news and bad news. There is one, one witness. He was lucky to escape."

"And the bad news?"

"The bad news is that he is almost to the brink of insanity."

"Let me see him."  
"Ok...He demanded he get a cell." They went to the cell. "Listen...tell me all you know...about that...night."

"No, no way man, I can't. I can't go and just talk about it."

"I can help you. Please let me."

"Ok...Oh god...Celestia...I was walking with my regiment...and somebody just screamed...when we spun around, he was gone...oh sweet celestia...we were scared, we thought it was anyone, the silurians...and then, the same thing happened. We tried to run to base...OH MY GOD! THERE IT IS! THERE IT IS!"

"No, you're just delirious...Jesus." Behind the Doctor was a man with a literally blank face, wearing a black pinstripe suit. The Sherrif grabbed his gun and fired, but it was not enough.

"Wait! I can Help! I'm the Doctor..." But the Doctor felt dizzy and faint, and the last thing he saw was the slenderman's face amid static before passing out entirely...

"Doctor! Doctor!" The Doctor sat up in his bed, to find Jack and Ditzy. "Where am I?"

"The Ponyville hospital. Honestly, the PVPD insisted that we go here."

"And the slenderman?"

"Well...the police chief is in the next ward...and the mad witness is dead."  
"What does the slenderman want?"

"Indeed."

"I know where we can find out. Carrot top said that the slenderman was most commonly found in the everfree forest...so I feel like We need to go to Joshua willis's camp."

They checked out of the hospital, and stepped into the TARDIS. Setting the coordinates, he heard the breaked come on. He hated that sound. When he stepped out, he was met by a pony in military dress. "Doctor! Ditzy! What brings you here to this fine morning in the 7th circle of hell? And who (he motioned to jack) is this guy?"

"Listen. I am here because of the same reason I was here 2 years ago in my relative timeline. Same trouble, Different troublemaker."

"This is about the slenderman, Isn't it?" Suddenly, jack's vortex manipulator started pinging. "Guys. I'm being contacted by the EERC. They are on the case of the slenderman. Most likely, they will experiment on him, and then kill him." Suddenly, a page floated into camp. "What is that?" Ditzy hovered over the page. "Doctor...you better look at this." It was a crudely shaped image of the slenderman. "Some sorta drawing."

"Look at the corner: 'There are more'. In the forest..."

"I'll send some men with you, to collect them."

"No, We'll go ourselves. Joshua, I can take care of myself, and you can't risk losing anymore men."

"No. We need to do our homework. We need to know what we are up against."

"Alright, let's send a fireteam to the woods, to get some of slender's DNA. I have a plan."

They left that night. The Doctor had his sonic, Jack his pistol, and Ditzy a flashlight. Suddenly, a terrifying voice screamed out, and out appears a soldier, with a full syringe in hand. Then, He fell Down, Dead. The Doctor grabbed the syringe. "We'll take the TARDIS back." He called the TARDIS, and they all departed, into the woods. When the Doctor went to bed, Jack started screaming. "JACK! WHAT HAPPENED!" Jack was in a cold sweat. "Doctor, I saw...the slenderman. I...It was probably a nightmare."

The Next day, Jack appeared to have a symbol of a circle with a cross right through it on his hoof. He hadn't noticed it before. Then, the color drained from his face. "There it is!"

"How could it?" the slenderman was not there, it was a hallucination. "Jack-What happened to you?" The Doctor remembered what a webpage said about the slenderman. Then, it all came to him: the slendeman appeared on earth as well! It was a common theme on the internet. The Doctor remembered an excerpt from a webpage:

[After a spree of building burnings from unknown causes, several deaths and a few surviving witnesses, it could be gathered that the Slenderman had the following traits:

Slenderman will find interest in a victim for reasons unknown

It would then contact the victim, if it is a child, presenting itself as friendly

The adults he stalks have a common trait: they have all been through a terrible tragedy in their life, even if the tragedy was made by Slenderman directly

If an adult, it would stalk the victim for long amounts of time causing what is known as "Slender sickness" causing massive paranoia, nose bleeds, nightmares, hallucinations appearing to only the sick person, and many other dangerous symptoms.

Eventually, it would abduct the victim into nearby forest, where they would be killed.

In 'messy' cases, it may remove evidence of its existence by causing fire of their home, place of work, or school]

The Doctor knew Jack fitted all this criteria if it was an adult: Jack had many a tragedy happen to him in his indefinite life. But he was immortal, even if that happened to him. He remembered something else: [Death of the victim originally occurred through an odd means- the victim would be impaled on branches of very tall trees while still alive, and bleed to death. The organs would be individually removed, then placed in plastic bags. They would then be replaced into the body in their original positions, plus the plastic bags. The victims' corpses do not show any sign of a struggle.] This was not the case with Jack: when body parts woere taken out of him, like he was decapitated, for instance, then the head would just decompose, while the body would grow a new head. But...there was another pony he was scared for...why did he think that Applejack's younger sister was going to be in danger? Well, It was time to get the nanobots ready. He took the serum from the TARDIS study, and injected it into a DNA reader. He got the code, the genome. He then built a nanobot, and reanalysed it's code. He made it so that whenever slender-DNA was detected, the nanobot would relay it's position to a map of the everfree forest, and on that position, a little tick mark would appear. He relayed this code to thousands of other nanogenes he had in the TARDIS. He walked out of the TARDIS with a spring in his step. "Joshua! I have news!" He told the Commander of his plan. "If we inject it into every person in the camp, I feel we can mark out an area where Slendy is going to be." After this people appeared to be going about their business, safe in the knowledge that someone was watching over them.

They calculated where the slenderman appeared, and at lease ninty percent in the last two weeks, the slenderman appeared in only one place, about 3 miles from the camp.

A few weeks later, Ditzy bumped into the Doctor. "Doctor! Jack's gone!"

"What? Where was he? What happened?"

"He was sick...symptoms included massive paranoia, nose bleeds, nightmares, hallucinations appearing to only the sick pony, etc..."

"Ditzy...I think we already have a clue."

"What?" The Doctor took a page out of his saddlebag. "Before he left, Jack sent a note back in time. It appeared here. There are more..."

That night, they drove to the site "Remember, be on the lookout for pages."

"I see one!" It was taped to a tree. There was a picture of the slenderman next to a tree, with the word "FOLLOWS". "Look around!" They turned around, there was the slenderman. "RUN!RUNRUNRUN!" They ran for about a mile. "Did he follow us? No..."

"Doctor, look, a bathhouse! They headed in, and walked down the corridors. "Another one!" This page had the words "CAN'T RUN"

"Is he around?"

"No. I see the exit..." They went around a grove of trees, until Ditzy stepped on a page. "It's just the slenderman...in a grove of trees!"

The Doctor saw static on his eyes. "Run!"

"Doctor, Haven't you noticed? The last picture was in a grove of trees, and the slenderman is in a grove of trees. What if it's a map? or a route? To find Jack?"

"Another page!" This page simple read HELP ME. "Definitely Jack. But this is not his handwriting. And in this book I read, a detective story, there was blood on the wall. But it didn't come from the victim, but the killer." They felt a rush, and then, they spotted a double page. LEAVE ME ALONE. The back of the page read ALWAYS WATCHES-NO EYES. "Why would Jack want to be alone? Wouldn't he want people to come to his rescue?"

Suddenly, a gunshot sounded. "RELAX! RELAX! Were friends, not the slenderman." Jack came out of a grove of trees, a hole through his jacket. "Doctor! Thank god! I died about 30 times. So...frustrating."

"Sis!?" the three of them spun around. "That wasn't me."

"HANG ON! WERE COMING!" They ran towards the voice. And the Doctor was shocked at who he saw. It was Applebloom. "Doctor! I got lost...I think I broke my arm..." The Doctor made a quick analysis with his sonic. "It's broken, all right. You need medical attention." Applejack appeared in the clearing, wielding a shotgun. "Applebloom? Are you alright?" BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. "That wasn't me."

"Not me."

"Who was it?" They were soon answered: the slenderman appeared, in the clearing. Applejack and Jack tried to kill it with their pistol and shotgun. "Back down! Guns won't work!" The Slenderman shot one arm forward. It hit Jack square in the stomach and launched him back 5 feet. It used it's other arm as a whip, hitting the Doctor, Applejack, and Ditzy. "APPLEBLOOM! GET AWAY!" The slenderman curled two other arms around the filly. "NO!"

"But Doctor." said Applebloom, her eyes white and glowing. "It's friendly."

"What?" The slenderman unwrapped it's arms, and Applebloom slid down, good as new. It hit the Doctor like a sledgehammer. "THAT'S IT! The slenderman was attacking only adults, each with a tragic history, but he never harmed a single hair on any child! Why?"

Because I am a child myself. On my home planet, when I was very young, my blood brother was in danger, and no custodian would help us or would listen. My blood brother was killed. I went from planet to planet, killing those who had affected children. Molesters, abuses, or people who had neglected children.

"So...you ensured that the children of the universe could have what your sort of 'best friend' could not. You were protecting them from harm."

"So that means, when he attacked Jack, those notes were written by the slenderman, not Jack. Which means..." The Doctor remembered what Jack said: 'I'm being contacted by the EERC. They are on the case of the slenderman. Most likely, they will experiment on him, and then kill him.' "Jack. Did you bring a comm device with you?"

"Yes, wh-" But then an alarm began to blare. "No!" Voices from all sides from the forest. "Pipe down. Jack, turn slendy over."

"Stand down."

"What?"

"I said STAND DOWN!"

"Just turn Slendy over. I don't see what the problem is-"

"Who are you?"

"Names classified. I'm a corporal of the EERC."

"I am a captain of the EERC. I outrank you. STAND DOWN!"

"WHY?"

"I'm not turning him over!"

"TURN HIM OVER! TURN HIM OVER, OR WE OPEN FIRE!" The Doctor motioned to the slenderman. "Go. Now!" The slenderman's body started to glow, and then a great flash of light-

"He's gone. Captain Jack Harkness, you are under arrest for providing proof of a secret organization to civilians, and for harboring and saving a known criminal charged with six counts of murder."

"Doctor...Doctor, I'm going into labor." Jack cursed. "They could use this as a bargaining chip. they have the nanogenes, in a little box. One trillion to each agent. It will be like this: I come over in exchange for the nanogenes."

"Jack, No!"

"I have to." He went out to the men. "I'm coming, on one condition! That someone releases their nanogenes! I have a pregnant mare who needs medical attention."

"Great! Come with us already! I don't Have all night!" Jack walked to the men. "This is for your kid, Ditzy." And he walked off. A can was heard being opened, and several million nanogenes glowed up in the dark, surrounding Ditzy. Soon, the Doctor heard a baby crying. "Doctor, This is just one. the Doctor at the hospital reported twins. What's happening?"

"I don't know. I'll find a way to find the other half of the apple. But for now, Let's just enjoy the daughter we have."

And the Doctor called the TARDIS. It was time for this young foal to go home.


End file.
